Read: Zechariah 1
“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 1:3
Examine:
God was preparing to restore Israel and there were a lot of great things taking place. As He spoke through Zechariah, He reminded them of the failures of their fathers and warned them to not follow their example. There were three choices at the heart of every failure of the forefathers; they disobeyed a direct word from God, they delayed in following God, or they doubted the integrity of God.
Apply:
A lack of self-control is a double-edged sword. When I try to do right I over do it and set the bar too high. When I loosen my standards and attempt to live moderate I over-indulge and become carnal. I am taken to Paul’s words in Roman 7 when he discussed feeling the same pain. The indwelling power of sin in my flesh is constantly mounting a military campaign against the new nature given to me by Christ. From now until I am taken into heaven the old nature will constantly try to gain victory and control over me and my actions. This tension will never cease, but neither does it have to create misery in me.
There are two things that God is saying that I must obey. First, I have to accept His grace. Part of the tactic the flesh uses against the Spirit of God is to disqualify me. I will incessantly be taunted by my failures. They will be called to remembrance continuously. I have to accept that the grace of God given to me by Christ is enough and simply leave it at that.
Second, Jesus called me to a different set of standards. He said love God with everything that is in me, love others more than myself, center my life on His power, and then go radiate His joy to the world. That is it. That is my law, that is my call, and that is what is expected of me. When I take my eyes off of this and look towards the things I must stop doing I turn my life towards the very thing I hope to avoid.
Pray:
For the second time in the past few weeks I hear You saying I am praying an impossible prayer. I want the tension between the flesh and the Spirit go away but the truth of Your Word says that will never happen. I will always struggle, I will always fail, and I will always want to walk away. Those feelings will never fully die, those longings will never fully cease, and my pursuit of You will always be plagued with failure. There is no more discussion to be had on this and so I set it aside. Thank You for Your grace. I take my eyes off of my sins and turn them back towards You.
Help me to love You with a passion that exceeds everything else in my life. Create a longing in me to put others before myself. Center my life on the power of Christ that dwells inside of me and release me to be a strong witness for the joy I have found in Christ. Let me face radiate it, my words articulate it, and my actions reflect it. Fill my heart to the full with what is right in Christ and use that to change the world around me.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Return to Me Part 2
Read: Zechariah 1
“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 1:3
Examine:
God was preparing to restore Israel and there were a lot of great things taking place. As He spoke through Zechariah, He reminded them of the failures of their fathers and warned them to not follow their example. There were three choices at the heart of every failure of the forefathers; they disobeyed a direct word from God, they delayed in following God, or they doubted the integrity of God.
Apply:
When I need something from God, my expectations are for Him to move quickly. Really it is more like instantly. Honestly, my preferred pace and relationship with God can only be likened to having unlimited access to a genie in a bottle. Things turn sharply though when God wants something from me.
The first step to obeying God for me always seems to be delay. Now, I normally make it sound more holy than that. Some of my best politically correct reasons for not following God are; let me pray about it, I need to test it to make sure it really is God, or the doors have not opened.
The problem is there is not a single example of a man or woman in the scriptures who ever moved forward with complete clarity around their mission or their success. God says that it is impossible to please Him without faith. I must move forward without complete clarity and will always have to trust in what cannot be seen. Lysa Terkeurst gives 5 questions that are helpful in discerning if something is from God:
1. Is it consistent with the scriptures?
2. Does it line-up with God’s character?
3. Is it being confirmed through things I read, hear or see?
4. Is it beyond my abilities?
5. Would it please God?
If it passes those 5 tests, then I can trust that God is calling me to it.
Pray:
If I delay in obeying You, then technically I really have not disobeyed You right? I mean, it is not like I told You no. It is more like I am making sure that I understand so that I don’t make a mistake; right?
It is amazing to me how stupid my rationale looks when I see it on paper. I want to be more faithful and stop delaying in my obedience. Most of the areas I am struggling with right now are in the areas of forgiveness and trust. There are people I need to release. I am holding on to my anger because I want to make sure they learn their lesson. The truth is, I am the only one suffering. You have said let it go and I need to stop planning the wrath of words I have stored up to lead them to repentance. You are my defender and I must let go. Trust is also an issue. There is a fine line between work and faith. Your Word commands hard work. This delicate balance can be seen in the story of Nehemiah as he was building the wall. Though You promised to protect him, he basically kept a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. You want my trust to rest in You, while not abandoning sound reason and the disciplined work that goes along with it. Both are essential and I ask today for the wisdom I need to keep it.
“Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Return to Me,” declares the LORD of hosts, “that I may return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.” Zechariah 1:3
Examine:
God was preparing to restore Israel and there were a lot of great things taking place. As He spoke through Zechariah, He reminded them of the failures of their fathers and warned them to not follow their example. There were three choices at the heart of every failure of the forefathers; they disobeyed a direct word from God, they delayed in following God, or they doubted the integrity of God.
Apply:
When I need something from God, my expectations are for Him to move quickly. Really it is more like instantly. Honestly, my preferred pace and relationship with God can only be likened to having unlimited access to a genie in a bottle. Things turn sharply though when God wants something from me.
The first step to obeying God for me always seems to be delay. Now, I normally make it sound more holy than that. Some of my best politically correct reasons for not following God are; let me pray about it, I need to test it to make sure it really is God, or the doors have not opened.
The problem is there is not a single example of a man or woman in the scriptures who ever moved forward with complete clarity around their mission or their success. God says that it is impossible to please Him without faith. I must move forward without complete clarity and will always have to trust in what cannot be seen. Lysa Terkeurst gives 5 questions that are helpful in discerning if something is from God:
1. Is it consistent with the scriptures?
2. Does it line-up with God’s character?
3. Is it being confirmed through things I read, hear or see?
4. Is it beyond my abilities?
5. Would it please God?
If it passes those 5 tests, then I can trust that God is calling me to it.
Pray:
If I delay in obeying You, then technically I really have not disobeyed You right? I mean, it is not like I told You no. It is more like I am making sure that I understand so that I don’t make a mistake; right?
It is amazing to me how stupid my rationale looks when I see it on paper. I want to be more faithful and stop delaying in my obedience. Most of the areas I am struggling with right now are in the areas of forgiveness and trust. There are people I need to release. I am holding on to my anger because I want to make sure they learn their lesson. The truth is, I am the only one suffering. You have said let it go and I need to stop planning the wrath of words I have stored up to lead them to repentance. You are my defender and I must let go. Trust is also an issue. There is a fine line between work and faith. Your Word commands hard work. This delicate balance can be seen in the story of Nehemiah as he was building the wall. Though You promised to protect him, he basically kept a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other. You want my trust to rest in You, while not abandoning sound reason and the disciplined work that goes along with it. Both are essential and I ask today for the wisdom I need to keep it.
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